Mike Matheny Praises Dodgers, Compares Them To Cardinals

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals renewed their rivalry over the weekend for the first time since meeting in the 2014 National League Division Series. Just as they did over the last two years in October, though with much less at stake this time around, the Cardinals came away with the upper hand by winning two of the three games.

A.J. Ellis and manager Don Mattingly were ejected in Friday’s game, and Justin Turner got tossed after Sunday’s game ended on him striking out looking.

While the Dodgers are far from full strength and a much different team than the 2014 version that faced the Cardinals, manager Mike Matheny spoke highly of their revamped roster and organization, via Mike Bauman of MLB.com:

Good club, good club,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of the 2015 Dodgers. “They have some different names in there, but they replace some big names with some other big names. And there’s some potential damage with everybody that they bring in their lineup, whether it’s guys they develop in the Minor League system, or with their pitching, they just bring one arm after another. And then they’re able to go get some people, too. It’s a franchise that takes a lot of pride, like we do, in putting a good product out there. I don’t think they’re disappointing anybody.”

Matheny’s club benefitted from not having to face either Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw over the three-game series, but it may not have made much of a difference when considering the stagnant state of the Dodgers’ offense.

The Cardinals and Dodgers next meet Thursday at Dodger Stadium for the start of a four-game set. Kershaw is currently slated to take the hill Saturday and Greinke on Sunday, the series finale that ESPN picked up as part of its weekly Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

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